HAR (HTTP archive)
Also known as: .har file, HTTP Archive, network log file
A HAR (HTTP Archive) file is a JSON log of a browser’s network activity — every request and response, with timing, headers, and often content. Developers export it from browser dev tools to diagnose web performance and bugs.
- JSON log of a browser’s network requests
- Exported from dev tools to debug web issues
- May contain cookies and tokens — scrub before sharing
What a HAR captures
A .har file is structured JSON recording a web session’s network traffic: each request URL, method, status, headers, timings, and frequently the response bodies. It is generated from a browser’s developer tools Network panel.
Support teams often ask for a HAR to reproduce a problem, because it shows exactly what the browser sent and received, in what order, and how long each step took.
A privacy caution
Because a HAR can include cookies, authorization headers, and posted form data, it may contain sensitive information like session tokens or passwords. Review and scrub a HAR before sharing it.
HAR files are plain-text JSON and can get large for a busy page, but they hold logs rather than media. Delete them once a debugging session is done.